The Lullaby of Treble Castle - part 10

"The Lullaby of Treble Castle"
part 10

Lucien was certain that he'd hear those words confirming Rachel's feelings for him at some point, but he didn't appreciate that magic forced them out of her prematurely. He wanted her to say those things naturally, even if it pleased him to hear it anyway. He watched her resume eating with her very kingly zest. Perhaps keeping her feelings inside supressed her appetite all this time? Lucien had never seen her eat so much.

Arianna, on the other hand, looked positively pissed. She couldn't look away from Linda. Even though she and Alyssa strictly expressed disinterest in trying to manipulate Rachel with magic, Linda did it anyway. "I can't believe this," she said like she could have thrown every sharp utensil on the table at Linda and still not feel absolved. "Florence, isn't there a way to cancel that spell out or something?!"

Florence shrugged. "Forgive me, Rosebud. I only carry Her Magesty's spell book out of respect. I can't even read it. I specialized in Spanish. Now's not exactly the time to go into that."

"You've always spent too much time in the dirt to chase after any education, Florence," Karoly said. He recieved angry glares from everyone around the room except Rachel.

Alyssa threw her fork down on the floor. "You have no right to speak right now, you girly piece of shit," she said. "If I was allowed to touch you, I'd beat the hell out of you right now!"

"Don't. Don't blame Karoly," Linda butt in quietly. "If you must blame someone, blame me. I cast the spell. I gave in to his advances and listened to his pleas. I was weak." She stood up. "So go ahead, Ally. Throw as many punches as you need to feel better."

Alyssa looked away. "If I started, I wouldn't stop even after you were dead," she said. "Come on, Severin. I can't do this right now." She got up from her chair, and walked out, doing her best to hide the tears that were slipping down her face. Severin followed her, as he was requested, even though he seemed like he had so much more to say on the matter.

"I can't blame Ally for her reaction to this. She has known Rachel far longer than I have," Arianna thought aloud. "I hate to say this. Lucien, you might be the only one that can do anything about this."

Rachel stopped eating finally, then wiped her face clean with a napkin. "Gosh, if I keep eating, I'm gonna explode!" she said. "Wonderful breakfast, though. You guys are splendid." She stood up. When she noticed that everyone around her seemed sad about something, she felt confused. "What's with all the long faces around here?"

Lucien stood up. "Now that you're full, you probably need to rest."

She blushed and glomped around him that instant. "Oh, Lucien, you must be implying something else, right? Anything for you." she asked, nuzzling her cheek against his chest. "I can hear your heartbeat. It sounds so peaceful."

Arianna wanted to gag herself. "She's turned into a nonsense-spewing idiot! What in the name of all things holy has happened to you!?"

Rachel was surprised to hear Arianna say that. "Now, Aria. I've always liked Lucien since I first laid eyes on him. I just... didn't have it in me to admit that I was smitten. I resisted even looking at his face because I didn't want to leave. I just came to my senses. Nothing outside will ever be this good."

Lucien made Linda hand over the spellbook she used, much to Karoly's chagrin. He made Rachel back off just a little, though she wouldn't stop staring at him. He flipped through the pages, looking for the exact spell Linda cast. "It appears that this particular spell is for bringing hidden feelings to the surface. It's not to make someone fall in love out of nowhere. If there's no feelings to bring out, then it would have had no effect," he said. "You two knew what you were doing! Or I should say, Karoly knew. His magic couldn't touch Rachel because she's linked to me."

"But... there's a reason I did it," Linda said, bursting into tears. "I didn't want her to be taken away from us. She's my cousin, and I love her dearly! I couldn't just let the shadowlings have her!"

"Little brother," Lucien said sternly, calling Florence's attention. "Take Karoly downstairs."

"You're joking, Lucien!" Karoly screamed as Florence snatched his hands and held them back. "We all share the curse, if something happens to me, then we're all affected! Even your little princess!"

"Hey, he didn't say he was going to feed you to Achille's little demons, did he?" Florence asked, laughing a bit. "You need to contemplate what you've done. Linda, you do, too. Go to your room for the rest of the day. You'll be safe there."

Florence started to lead Karoly out, but Karoly pulled out of it and called up a barrier around himself with his magic. "I can't believe you'd try to lock me away like this. I just wanted to help all of us live our dreams to the very fullest."

Arianna walked up to Linda and smacked her on the back of the head. "You really could have made things a lot worse, you know!"

"I know that," Linda said quietly. "I know that, but I was scared for Rachel!"

Arianna then looked at Karoly. "What did you say that scared Linda so much?" she asked. "What 'shadowlings' is she talking about? Who's Achille?"

Florence replied, "Achille is the reason why you can't be out of your room after dark. He'll tear the soul right out of you and turn your leftover body into a creature who exists to feed on the lifeforce of other people."

"That's pretty much how it works," Lucien agreed.

Karoly nodded. "And you know he has a personal thing against you, Lucien. I know he'll try to take your little Rachel, and he'll have the perfect opportunity to do so if you don't keep a very close eye on her." He didn't want to take his barrier down, because Florence looked ready to tackle him to the ground at any moment.

Rachel grabbed onto Lucien's arm. "I know about it. Lucien told me after he made them leave. I saw the shadow creatures when they tried to attack me. They're as dark as a shadow, which is to be expected. They make screetching noises, like they're constantly in pain or crying." She sighed. "But you know what? I trust Lucien with my life. I will do as he asks without question, for the safety of myself and everyone else. So, Karoly, you have no reason to panic. And, Linda, you have no reason to fear for me."

Linda wiped her eyes. "But... I don't feel like anything is set in stone anymore, Rachel. I wonder if even we will die when the curse breaks." She slumped down to her knees. "Rachel, this entire situation is scary!"

Rachel kneeled down next to her cousin. "Don't overreact. Remember what you told me before? To look at everything logically?"

"But nothing here operates on logic," Linda cried. "How can I think things out logically when nothing here works that way?"

"So the castle does not operate on logic, but this doesn't mean that you can't," Rachel said, hugging Linda tightly. "You can decide for yourself what you have to do. If you want to break this curse, then go right ahead and find a way. If you don't, then that's fine, too. I won't judge you no matter which choice you make. Ally might have a harder time than I do with it, of course."

Linda wondered if it was Rachel talking or if it was the spell's effect talking. She seemed so serene, like she had no idea what just happened. Linda didn't know what to make of Rachel's pep talk. No matter who or what was saying that, it was reassuring to hear. "You're right," Linda replied. "I will only make my decisions on my own, after learning everything about it. Forgive me for acting out of place."

"There's nothing to forgive, Lynn," Rachel whispered. "But you should do as you're told. If they insist you need some solitary confinement, you should best get to it. Use the time to record your thoughts somehow. You must have all sorts of feelings you're not expressing." She picked herself up off the floor, and reached down to help Linda up to her feet. "Go on. We'll speak again later."

Linda did as she was told. She left and headed straight to her room without stopping or talking to anyone.

Arianna wasn't sure of what she saw there. "Rachel, why did you just dismiss Linda like that?" When she walked closer to Rachel to get a better look at her, she noticed something was off. "Lynn could have just made the curse that much worse on you, Rachel. That spell could really be the death of you."

"I'm sorry?" Rachel asked, the irises in her eyes flickering as if lightning had gone off within them. "What are you talking about? What spell?"

"Holy hell," Arianna breathed out. "Lucien, did you just see that?"

"I did," Lucien said, just as amazed as Arianna was. "Florence, take Arianna, please."

"What about Karoly?" Florence asked. "You still want him in the dungeon?"

"No," Lucien answered. He glared at Karoly. "Just go. I won't say anymore."

Florence just nodded, taking Arianna's hand. "Come on, Rosebud. I get the feeling this is going to get ugly," he whispered in her ear. She went along because she felt she had no choice.

When everyone but Rachel, Lucien, and Karoly had gone, Karoly felt safe enough to let his barrier down. The silence didn't last long, though, as Lucien seemed intent on getting answers.

"Feeding Linda lies to manipulate her like that was uncalled for. Remember how we're not supposed to interfere with each other?" Lucien asked, walking up to Karoly. "What will you do about this?" He wished he had a way to take his anger out on Karoly, but he was fresh out of ideas. Lucien never was an accomplished magician, either in or out of the curse.

"What do you want, Lucien? A duel with me?" Karoly retorted. "The righteous swordsman versus the evil, manipulative mage? Is that it?" He was proud of what he'd done, and he had such a punchable smug expression on his face. "Stop being so angry at me. You have everything you wanted."

"Yes, but I didn't want it this way," Lucien said.

Rachel turned away from them both, heading back over to the dining table which was still covered in food. "This reminds me of a story my dad once told me."

Both Lucien and Karoly were confused, but continued to listen to her anyway.

"A hard-working farmer from the country wants nothing more than to give his family the very best life he can. He works and works at it, and his family has a meager but happy existence. One day, he and his neighbor take a trip to the city. On the way there, they talk about their dreams. The neighbor is very taken by his friend's dreams for his family, and decide to buy a ticket for a lottery as a gift for the farmer when he has the opportunity. The farmer says 'no, I don't need that. We're a happy family all ready' and his neighbor says 'Think of all the things your family could do if you had more money. How much happier you could be.' The farmer's ticket won the lottery, and soon, life changed so much. No longer did his family live in the country, and they didn't have to work the farm anymore, either. Life was less harder and so much simpler, but the farmer wasn't happy anymore. The farmer's wife asked him 'Why are you so unhappy? Your children are set for life and can have anything they want. We can do so much.' The farmer replied 'I didn't earn this. I didn't make this happen. I'm not a provider anymore.' His wife then told him 'It's not about whether you made it happen or not, but it has happened to you. Take the gift that has been bestowed upon you and make the best of it.'"  Rachel picked up a donut and started to eat it. "Dad once said that it's not what happens to you that makes you who you are, but how you react to it. I suppose that's what the story's really about." She finished the donut then walked between the two guys. "What's with the weird glares?"

Lucien shook his head. "That story."

"What about it?" Rachel asked.

"You're just saying that when good fortune comes my way, that I should accept it no matter what? That's hardly what I expected you to say." Lucien tried to come to some cohesive conclusion, but his thoughts evaded him. He was under the impression that Rachel wasn't like that at all. She wanted to get out of the curse at first because it was wrong of her to accept what happened when she was supposed to be elsewhere - she had a sense of duty that she wanted to uphold. It had to be the spell talking through her. He was sure of it. "I don't believe you'd live by the moral of that story."

"What?" Rachel laughed. "I don't live how stories and legends tell me to. It was just a story my dad told me, nothing more. But, if Karoly did you a favor, then why not accept it as a gift? He is your friend, isn't he?"

Karoly smiled. "Exactly! Thank you, my dear." He reached over like he wanted to ruffle her hair, but his hand was knocked back. "Sad that I can't thank you the way I'd like to."

Lucien twitched, and pulled Rachel closer to him. "What the hell was that comment?" he demanded. "Just when she asks me to forgive your so-called 'generosity', you have to say things like that!"

"I'm not out to rape your princess. For Heaven's sake, calm down," Karoly grunted. "But I do believe a comment like that is worth a few hugs." He pursed his lips and started to float off the ground. "Anyway, Lucien, live it up."

"I'm not done with you!" Lucien shouted at him.

"Well, I am done with you," Karoly said, flying out of the dining hall, leaving Rachel and Lucien alone.

"I can't believe him. Who knows what kind of things he's told Linda?" Lucien asked, more thinking aloud than actually talking to Rachel. "Achille won't be able to snatch you from your bed, so there's no way he'd actually be able to do anything to you." He then looked at her. "I still would have rather have earned your love."

"You did earn it, as you have it." Rachel said with a smile. She reached up to put her hands on his face, pulling him down just enough to have their faces at an even height. "So make what you will of it."

This was too much. Lucien was thrown completely off. Rachel was never this affectionate before. She never spoke like that, either. He kissed her forehead, though she seemed disappointed by that. "Let's go," he said. "We'll find something to do."

"As long as we're together, I don't care what we do," Rachel replied, reaching her arms around his chest. "Anything works for me."

"Ugh,"  Lucien sighed. He had to get this to stop. He would start falling out of love with her at this rate.